Finding resiliency on defense and a leader on offense, the Ravens dispatched the Jacksonville Jaguars with a raucous 39-36 victory at PSINet Stadium.

On a day when the Ravens finally ended the four-year domination of the Jaguars, they flirted with flashbacks from the past. They fell behind 17-0 in the first quarter, took the lead in the fourth quarter, then relinquished it.

At the end, after the brutal start and torrid comeback, they may finally have become Tony Banks' team.

The Ravens quarterback threw for a career-high five touchdowns and 262 yards. He hit tight end Shannon Sharpe for a 29-yard game-winning touchdown in the final minute at the end of a 75-yard scoring drive. He wiped out a first half of futility with a second half of wizardry.

Emotions ran rampant all day.

"I've still got that emotion right now," an exhilarated Banks said after completing 23 of 40 throws. "I've won games toward the end, but never in this fashion, by stinking it up in the first half and throwing five touchdown passes. You can't ask for anything more.

In the second half, Banks was Kurt Warner, the MVP quarterback of the St. Louis Rams. He passed for four of his five touchdowns and 194 yards after intermission.

"He showed he can take a team over and make the throws necessary to win a game," said Ravens wide receiver Billy Davis. "You don't throw for five touchdown passes and not make a statement."

The victory lifted the 2-0 Ravens into sole possession of the AFC Central Division lead, broke an eight-game losing streak to the Jaguars and stamped them as a team to watch this season.

"They're an outstanding club on both sides of the ball," said Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith, who delivered a Herculean performance with 15 receptions worth 291 yards and three touchdowns. "The only thing they were waiting on was Tony Banks' improvement. He grew a lot today."

Banks grew a lot from the first half to the second.

Three third-down penalties on defense dug a 17-point hole in the first quarter. Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell capitalized with a pair of TD throws to Smith for 45 and 43 yards, and a 36-yard Mike Hollis field goal.

The Ravens salvaged a 14-yard scoring pass to Travis Taylor after the first of four Jaguars' turnovers. At halftime, Jacksonville led 23-7, and Ravens coach Brian Billick was looking at the big picture.

"At halftime, I told them one thing," Billick said. "What I told them was, win or lose, it will make no difference. The second half will define who we are. How we conduct ourselves will define the kind of team we are."

It took the Ravens four plays to provide the first definition. A series that started with a 40-yard pass to Taylor ended with a 23-yard touchdown strike to the rookie. Taylor had moved from the flanker position to split end when veteran Qadry Ismail sprained a knee ligament returning a Jacksonville kickoff in the first quarter.